THE BEGINNING

Eskrima, Arnis or Kalit, the only known traditional Filipino Martial Arts, has its roots deep in the culture and history of the Filipino people. The exact date of its origin, however, remains unclear. Traces of historical evidence reveal that this manly art of self defense involving the use of a single stick, two sticks, a long and a short stick, a dagger, or some other blunt instruments no doubt existed long before the arrival of the first Spanish colonizers in the country. The first known Filipino hero, Lapulapu, was believed to be one of the foremost masters of Arnis, which was known during that time in the native dialect as pangamut. In fact, Lapulapu had vigorously trained and prepared his men for "showdown" fights against his enemies long before his historic battle with Ferdinand Magellan on April 27, 1521, in Mactan Island. It was no surprise then, that when the first circumnavigator of the world tried to subdue the recalcitrant Lapulapu, who refused to come and meet him in Cebu, Magellan and his men were met not with a hail of bullets but with wooden instruments, spears, and bolos. It was ironic that when the smoke of the epic battle cleared, the Spanish conquistadors more "modern" weapons were no match for the crude wooden arms of Lapulapu and his warriors. Magellan lost his life in that battle.In the book DeLos Delitos, printed in 1800 by Don Baltazar Gonzales in Madrid, Spain, the author tells that it may have been Datu Mangal, the father of Lapulapu, who brought the stickfighting to Mactan Island, and Sri Batugong and his son Sri Bantug Lumay who brought the art to the neighboring island of Sugbu (Cebu). Bantug Lumay was the father of Sri Humabon or Rajah Humabon. Humabon was the chieftain of Sugbu at the time when Magellan arrived in 1521.The tribes of Lapulapu and Humabon were part of Sri Visayan Empire in the 14th century. After the Empire was defeated by the Maja Pahit Empire of ancient Sumatra and Borneo, the tribes became part of a group who fled and eventually settled in the islands of the Visayas Central Philippines. Another group of those Sri Vasayans, that included the tribes of Datu Puti and Datu Sumakwel, went out and settled in Panay Island.Lapulapu, even before his momentous meeting with Magellan, had been training his men because of his bitter rivalry with Rajah Humabon, whom he accused of having grabbed a portion of his father's land, particularly the sea area between the Mactan Island and Cebu. The feud between these two local chieftains contributed significantly to the early development of the "old" Arnis. The showdown between Lapulapu and Humabon, however, was never realized. Rather, it was in the battle of Mactan where the native martial art was put to a real test against the modern weapons of the foreign invaders. The rest is history.When Miguel Lopez de Legaspi landed in the Philippines and established the first settlement in 1565, he and his men noted that the Filipinos were a class by themselves in the art of stickfighting and blade or sword fighting. He had his first glimpse of the nativesexceptional skill and ability during his landing in Leyte in 1564 when he was entertained with an Arnis demonstration by the warriors of Chieftain Malitik. Similar demonstrations weremade upon his visits in Limasawa, Camiguin, Cebu and other places.Arnis was then the favorite sport of the royalties that every time a demonstration or competition was held, people usually came in droves to watch. Its popularity spanned well up to the Spanish times. However, when the Spaniards gained substantial control of the country it discouraged the practice of Arnis. Fearful of the Filipinos exceptional skill, they imposed a total ban in the practice of the art. Although the reason given was the unusual long hours spent by the natives in the practice and training, hence, neglecting their work it was obvious the authorities were fearful of the threat to their lives at the hands of the very skillful and well trained people. Hence, the Filipinos put aside their training devices andabandoned the practice of Arnis.It was not until the 19th century that Arnis began to surface again into popularity among the natives. The rapid growth was attributed to the introduction of the Moro moro plays and dances which became popular among the Filipinos and gave them the opportunity to circumvent the rule which prohibited the display and carrying of bladed weapons. It was believed that the Moro-Moro plays and dances were invented to primarily give the Filipinosan excuse or a cover to resume the practice and training of Arnis. As a result, the people concentrated in mastering the art known as "oway". Through some kinds of subterfuge behind the disguise of performing stage plays and dances or dance movements, theFilipinos were able to practice and continue their Arnis training with the use of bladed weapons known as "kali". "Kali" is a type of broad sword still popular among the Filipinos particularly those in the southern part of the country including the Muslim provinces.Due to the Spanish influence this Filipino Martial Art came to be known as "Arnis de Mano" - derived from the Spanish word "arnes", meaning trappings or defensive armor. It also acquired namesakes such as "estokada", "estoque", "fraile", "arnes de mano", or simply "arnis". Among the tagalogs, it is known as "pananandata", the Pangasinan natives, "kalirongan", the Ilocanos "didya" or "kabaraon", the Ibanags "pagkalikali", the Pampanguenos "sinawali" and the Visayans "Kaliradman" or "pagaradman" , later "esgrima" or "eskrima".The word "eskrima" is derived from the Spanish word "esgrima" which means "a game between two combatants with the use of blunt instruments". The name of the stick which could either be rattan or a piece of hardwood used in "eskrima" is called either "olisi", "baston" or "garote". The word "eskrima" became popular in the early years of the American regime, when the first Arnis club organized in Cebu City, Central Philippines in 1920, the Labangon Fencing Club used the term in their practice of the art. Although this group was dissolved in later years due to serious political conflicts among it officers. In 1932, Doce Pares Association, with all the well known grandmasters based in Cebu as a nucleus, came into being. This organization in years to come became very popular that its name was almost synonymous with martial art of Arnis and it was to its credit that Arnis was widely practiced as sort of a competitive sport. Its rule on sparring matches had received broad acceptance, that in early 1970, was generally accepted by all the arnis clubs, schools and organizations in the country. In fact, the present tournament rules adopted by the World Eskrima Arnis Federation (WEKAF) had been substantially lifted from this old rules of Doce Pares. The development of the Filipino stickfighting art, more widely known as Arnis or Eskrima, has grown to spectacular proportion, making it today one of the most popular martial arts in the world. Major events held in the Philippines as well as in the USA, England, Australia, Germany and other countries in the world more than confirmed the universal acceptance of Arnis as a popular sporting event.

Ciriaco Canete Biography:

The legendary Ciriaco "Cacoy" Canete of Cebu Philippines is a prominent, internationally known martial artist who travels the globe to share, teach and demonstrate his martial art skills to others. Currently the Grandmaster promotes his art for self-defense, sport and personal well-being. "Cacoy" Canete is the last surviving member and the only 12th degree black belt and the highest ranking member of the fame Doce Pares Eskrima Club. He started Eskrima at age 7 under the oldest of eight, brothers "Momoy". Now close to 90 years old, Grandmaster Canete's list of achievements is unparralleled.

Doce Pares was founded on January 11, 1932 by a small group of Eskrima Masters.

For more information on the history of “Eskrima”, “Arnis” or “Kali”, please go to the “History Of “Eskrima”, “Arnis” or “Kali” page.

The name Doce Pares was adopted in reference to the famous twelve bodyguards of Emperor Charlemagne of France (AD 768-814). these twelve people all top swordsmen were known to have fought and killed hundreds of enemies in battles. Doce Pares which means "Twelve pairs" in Spanish, was meant also to honor the twelve people who originally planned to form the organization, and when the membership rose to twenty four at the time of the inauguration, it indeed became more significantly fitting.

Ciriaco "Cacoy" Canete was born in San Fernando, Cebu, in August of 1919 approximately 30 kilometers south of Cebu City, on Cebu Island, in the Visayas region of The Philippines. He was born into a family for whom Eskrima was already a tradition. He was the youngest of twelve children. At the early age of seven he was initiated into Eskrima, learning from his brother Filemon or "Momoy" who had in turn learned Eskrima from his father Gregorio and uncles Gavino, Pedro (from his fathers family) and Juancho (from his mothers family). In his youth, Cacoy trained in boxing, wrestling and the Asian martial arts. In the 1920's his brothers were already involved in teaching stick fighting. Interest in Filipino martial arts led to the formation by Visayan martial arts practitioners of the Doce Pares Association in Cebu. In 1939, Cacoy's elder brother, Eulogio "Yoling" Canete became president of Doce Pares, the oldest and longest standing martial arts organization in the Philippines and a driving force behind the popularization of Filipino martial arts. Yoling was president of Doce Pares until his death in 1988.

Because of his open mindedness and desire for knowledge, he has trained in many different styles of Martial Arts. Some of the styles he has learnt include Ju Jitsu, Boxing, Kodokan Judo, free style wrestling, Shorin Karate and Aikido. With his acknowledged spectrum of skills through his lifetime of training, he has gained a deep insight and a broad understanding, with mastery of the concepts of self defence and combat. The culmination of years of learning fused into the style that he teaches which is called 'Eskrido'. This style combines the refined essential elements of every martial art he has learned through his life.

Cacoy served with the USAFFE in the war years and stayed in the army service until 1947. He studied at the University of Southern Philippines and taught martial arts in various Cebu schools. In 1979 he was champion in both the First Open Arnis Tournament in Cebu City and the First National Invitational Arnis Tournament in Manila, both events sponsored by the National Arnis Association of the Philippines (Naraphil).

Ciriaco Cañete's Eskrido Doce Pares syllabus: Single, double stick, and stick/dagger single person patterns or katas. Ammara/ Pinki Pinki double stick training routines (drills sometimes called Sinawali in the northern regions of the Philippines), breakfalls and throws. Stick and dagger defence, locks and throws. Semi free sparring in close, medium and long range with single stick and stick and dagger. Disarms are one of Cacoy's main emphasis.

Cacoy's Twelve Basic strikes:

#1 top of head

#2 right temple

#3 left temple

#4 right ribs

#5 left ribs

#6 right waist

#7 left waist

#8 right knee

#9 left knee

#10 right cheek thrust

#11 left cheek thrust

#12 stomach thrust

DOCE PARES:

"Doce Pares" is an Eskrima/Arnis Martial Arts Club that was founded in Cebu City in January 12, 1932. Originally it was a breakaway group of students and instructors from the 'Labangon Fencing Club' of the 1920's which was influenced heavily by the Saavedra and Cañete families. The original instructors of the Doce Pares taught their own particular families, islands or regions styles of Eskrima and their particular interpretation of their own styles. The Doce Pares was made famous in the international scene during the 60's, 70's, 80's and 90's by the Cañete family, especially Ciriaco 'Cacoy' Cañete. The term 'Doce Pares' is a Spanish term translated into English to mean 'Twelve Pairs'. This term the 'Twelve Pairs' has been given several meanings to it. One refers to the twelve basic strikes that are common to most Eskrima styles and schools and their twelve basic block and counters to these strikes. Another more romantic explanation is of the reference to the twelve pairs of 'Compadres', the bodyguards for the King Charlemagne and how the club should emulate the friendship of these warriors. The final explanation is that supposedly there were twelve original master members of the Club. There are no Grandmasters alive from the original founding members of the Doce Pares. However there are several senior instructors or Grandmasters of the second generation of Eskrimadors/Arnisadors still alive that teach their own interpretation or styles of Eskrima/Arnis within the club the Doce Pares.

Doce Pares Organizations:

Doce Pares is the worlds leading organization for the promotion and development of the traditional Philippine martial art known as Eskrima - stick fighting. Magellan's sword-wielding conquistadores fell to Maharaja Lapulapu who used Eskrima to defeat the Spanish at the battle of Mactan. Doce Pares traces its history to Lapulapu and today is the home of the most renown expert of this art, Ciriaco "Cacoy" Canete.

Introduction:

Because the martial arts field is basically unregulated and depends greatly upon the integrity of instructors and practitioners to honestly represent their backgrounds and training, it is quite difficult for students to be assured of the quality of their teachers. This problem has become more severe as Eskrima and other martial arts have grown into popular and successful business enterprises. Unfortunately, along with the growth of the martial arts industry, there have been numerous examples of individuals taking advantage of the lack of regulation and organization to try to obtain commercial advantage by "self-promoting" themselves as Doce Pares "Masters" or even Doce Pares "Grand Masters". To bring some clarification and validation to the Eskrima ranking system, the Cacoy Doce Pares World Federation has developed a listing of all the Grand Masters and Masters it has officially recognized. The titles of Doce Pares Grand Master and Master are highly regarded throughout the world and the individuals who have achieved these ranks through official recognition should be given great respect for their achievement. The Cacoy Doce Pares World Federation seeks to preserve the integrity and reputation of its official rankings through presentation of this accreditation list.

The qualifications for these respected and advanced titles are based on the judgments of past and previous Grand Masters and include the following:

For Masters, this includes total mastery of all existing Eskrima skills at the highest level of ability

For Grand Masters, it requires going beyond the total mastery of all known Eskrima skills to evolve and contribute new skills, styles, techniques and advances to the art

Contributions to the art of Eskrima that promotes and advances its recognition as a unique martial ART throughout the world.

Doce Pares does not consider purely commercial or business promotion as meeting this goal. The present and past Grand Masters and Masters have been recognized for the quality of the students whom they have produced to spread the art of Eskrima throughout the world and for their personal good-will ambassadorships achieved through world travels, seminars and so on.

Particularly for Grand Masters, a lifetime history of continued dedication to the art of Eskrima. For both Grand Masters and Masters, character and personality worthy of this high recognition as well as concern for students and skill in their martial arts training and education. Students should be wary of anyone claiming the title of Doce Pares Grand Master or Master whose name is not recorded here. In such cases, documentation of the title (signed, dated certification from Doce Pares Federation, Cebu City) should be requested. Final verification can be obtained directly from Cacoy Doce Pares World Federation by an e-mail inquiry. Verification of lower rankings should be traceable back to Doce Pares World Federation and/or an officially recognized Grand Master or Master or Doce Pares Certified training facility. To ensure they are "getting what they pay for" students should ask for validation of this Doce Pares "ancestry" record before undertaking study of Doce Pares Eskrima from a particular individual or school.

highlights of supreme Grandmaster's life:

Founding member of the fame Doce Pares Eskrima Club in 1932

Amateur Boxer, Cebu City 1937-1939

US Armed Force Guerilla 1942

Retired Lieutenant, Military Police, Philippine Army 1947

Teacher, St. Francis Academy, Balamban, Cebu 1948

Bachelor of Science Ed., University of Southern Philippines, Cebu 1950

Teacher, University of Visasays 1951

Wrestler, Philippine National Wrestling Association 1957

Teacher, University of San Carlos 1962-1968

President, Labor Union, Pepsi Cola Company, Cebu 1963-1973

University of Visayas, 1964-1991

Black Belts: Shorin Ryu Karate 1964, Kodokan Judo 1957, Aikido 1972

Retired Captain, Reserve Armed Forces of the Philippines 1970

Cebu City Colleges (now University of Cebu) 1971 - 1984

President Champion Trophy, 1st National Arnis Masters Open 3/24/79

Champion, 1st National Arnis Invitational, 8/19/79

Cebu Sports Hall of Fame Inductee, Philippines 1997

Sports Commissioner of Eskrima, Cebu City - Current

Commissioner on Sports Cebu City, 1998 - 2002

Teacher: University of San Carlos 1962 - 1968

University of the Visayas 1964 - 1991

Cebu City Colleges (now University of Cebu) 1971 - 1984

Commissioner on Sports Cebu City 1998 - 2002 A religious man, who has never challenged anyone, Cacoy never refused a good fight to protect his family's Doce Pares Club and good name. He is undefeated in no-holds-barred weapon fights. His goal in martial arts is to offer confidence to those with low self-esteem, courage to the intimidated, and nurture responsibility among citizens.

2003 USMA International Hall of Fame Inductees

PHILIPPINES Ciriaco Canete Most Distinguished Grand Master of the Year

Cacoy Canete is today the best-known of the Canete brothers (Filemon, Eulogio, Tirso, Ciriaco, Rufino and Silvestre) and we are so very lucky to have this treasure of a human being to learn from with relatively great frequency.

Senior Grandmaster Guro Anthony Kleeman

Guro Anthony is originally from Alice Springs Australia and started Martial Arts in 1976.

Anthony holds a Black Belt Ranking in the arts of:

Tang Soo Do

Modern Arnis

Eskrima

Eskrido

Pangamot

Kilat

Arjukampo

Martial Arts Wrestling

Sikaran

Anthony is a charter member of W.E.K.A.F and C.D.P.W.F. as well as holding the title of World Full Contact Eskrima Champion for 1989, 1992, 1993, 2006 and 2007.

Anthony was promoted to Grand Master by Supreme Great Grand Master "Cacoy" Canete in July of 2007 and was inducted into the "Doce Pares Hall Of Fame" in 2008.

In 2009, Kumu Rick was nominated and inducted into the United States Martial Artist Association Hall Of Fame as its "Humanitarian Of The Year".

In 2010 Kumu Rick was inducted into the Cacoy Doce Pares World Federation Hall Of Fame where he was awarded this honor in Cebu, Philippines by Supreme GrandMaster Cacoy Canete.

These recognitions for Kumu Rick's success and personal achievements in martial arts has recorded yet additional milestones in his career with these Hall Of Fame organizations being respected in over 55 countries across the world for their standards of integrity and professionalism. The list of fellow inductees is long and includes such names as Wally Jay, Jhoon Rhee, Don Madden, Reme Presas, George Dillman, Chien Liang Huang and International inductees such as Raul Gaulterez (Spain), Song Swee Hee (Malaysia), Edmund Bousaglo (Israel), Jurg Ziegler (Switzerland), Carlos Diaz (Puerto Rico), Peter Chong (Singapore).

Kumu Rick began his martial arts training by taking a Shotokon Karate class at the local community center in 1978 at 9 years old and trained and sampled several different systems such as Tang Soo Do, Kung Fu San Soo & Muay Thai before finding a home with John Hackleman in 1987. At that time, in meeting John, it was not known that he was playing an instrumental role in the history of martial arts and more specifically, the Hawaiian Kempo lineage as we know it today.

Rick spent 9 years training and fighting for The Pit with an undefeated boxing & kickboxing record before earning his Blackbelt in 1996. Since then he has also gone back to his KaJuKenBo roots in earning the rank of Blackbelt in Cacoy Canete Doce Pares Eskrima, Eskrido & Pangamot as well as being asked to join the USA Full Contact Stickfighting Team competing in both Los Angeles and Cebu, Philippines where he won the Bronze medal.

Hawaiian Kempo has been instrumental in making the martial arts world what it is today. Since it's inception back in "the old days", it has continued to seamlessly fuse together traditional martial arts and MMA, to create an effectively disciplined workout that holds onto the hard-core philosophies of traditional training while removing extraneous material that has been revealed as impractical and ineffective. Our Hawaiian Kempo workout introduces “state of the art” training concepts and incorporates a style of fitness that is tested and proven in modern MMA as well as the always-unpredictable situations that arise in our day-to-day lives. In short, we have created a fitness and fighting system that is unequaled in the Martial Arts of the 21st Century.

Rick has taken his 31+ years of training and fighting for The Pit and combined this with the Filipino fighting concepts and weapon awareness that his Blackbelt ranking in Cacoy Canete Doce Pares brings to the table. Our KaJuKenBo roots were established under a simple philosophy of, “use what works and discard what doesn’t.” Whether you are training for a martial arts competition or cross training for any other sport in the world, the workouts and overall philosophy you'll find here at The Pit will get you closer to your goals of ultimate fitness and conditioning and get you there while making friends and having fun.

Having fun & staying healthy is key to longevity in the martial arts and if you can do that while "filling your toolbox" with tools that will actually work in real life situations, then you have yourself a system that is worth your time and effort to learn. The Pit's Hawaiian Kempo combined with the Cacoy Canete Doce Pares and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu creates a blend in concepts and techniques that result in a training method that assures you that there is no wasted effort.

Over the past 26+ years, Rick has worked extensively with the children of Malibu California, both as a preschool teacher working with the little ones for several years and as a therapist working with teenagers & adults within the residential treatment environment. Rick's years spent working with the children here in Malibu also includes teaching swimming, surfing & working as a lifeguard as well as being a registered AYSO Coach, Referee and Certified Safe Haven Provider.

The Pit Malibu brings it back to Southern California where it all began. As the only teaching Pit Blackbelt to come out of the of the Original Pit and in a community that has played such an influential role in Rick's life, The Pit-Malibu is THE place to be training for children and adults alike.